SIX foreign hostages and eight rebels have been killed in an Algerian military strike as fears grow for British victims.

A number of workers fled the gas complex where Islamist extremists have seized dozens of hostages, an Algerian official has said.

Six foreign hostages along with one Briton has been killed, while others are feared dead as reports emerge of victims being forced to wear explosive belts.

Various unconfirmed reports of hostages escaping or being freed from the base have emerged.

An Algerian official said 20 people, including Europeans and Americans, had got away.

However, the militant group behind the siege has claimed it is still holding 41 foreigners who are primed to explode if the authorities intervene.

A number of Scots are also among those being held, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond told MSPs.

One hostage, identified as a Briton, told Al Jazeera: "We are receiving care and good treatment from the kidnappers. The (Algerian) army did not withdraw and they are firing at the camp."

He urged negotiation to "spare any loss of life".

An Irish hostage, told the Qatar-based channel: "The situation is deteriorating.

"We have contacted the embassies and we call the Algerian army to withdraw, we are worried because of the continuation of the firing.

Another hostage, speaking to France 24 television, said they were being forced to wear explosive belts and the heavily armed gunmen were threatening to blow up the base if the Algerian army stormed it.

The raid is believed to have been planned by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a one-eyed Islamist known as Mr Marlboro and The Uncatchable.

His group goes under various names including Khaled Abul Abbas Brigade, the Masked Ones and The Blood Battalion and is said to have links with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a Mali-based militant group that wants to overthrow Algeria's government.

Meanwhile, Britain is allowing the Algerian government to take the lead in the ongoing hostage crisis and has received no requests for support, Downing Street said today.

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said the situation was "very serious and dangerous" but the Government was "working through" the Algerians and BP, which part-controls the facility that was stormed.

They said: "The nature and the extent of the attack suggests some considerable degree of pre-planning."

"Our focus is on working through the Algerian government and the company," the Downing Street spokesman said.

The Foreign Office was unable to confirm that any hostages had escaped.

The ongoing incident has involved various nationalities, including several British nationals. We are working with BP to support the families of staff and provide consular assistance.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister

The militants, linked to Al-Qaeda are said to have carried out the raid in reprisal for France, supported by the UK, launching armed action against militants in neighbouring Mali. They are threatening to blow up the plant if the military try to force them out.

Yesterday, an Algerian government spokesman said the deaths happened when a heavily armed “terrorist group” attacked the workers’ bus at about 5am.

The raiders were “repelled by the escort units” and then drove to the oil field where they took up to 41 foreign workers hostage, including several Britons and one Irish citizen.

The Ain Amenas gas field sits 60 miles from the Libyan border and 800 miles from the capital Algiers in Algeria’s vast desert south. It is run jointly by BP, Sonatrach – the Algerian state oil company, and the Norwegian state energy firm Statoil.